Sun Youth Then and Now - Sun Youth Organization

Sun Youth Then and Now
T
o celebrate Sun Youth’s 60th Anniversary, here is a special feature on the
organization’s history over the last six decades. It all started in 1954 with
a group of underprivileged children who created their own hand-written community newspaper, The Clark Street Sun, in an effort to raise
funds to organize sports and recreation activities and purchase sports equipment.
Among these youngsters were 9 year-old Earl De La Perralle and 13 year-old Sid
Stevens, still at the helm of the organization today. On the right: A meeting of The
Clark Street Sun newspaper, circa 1956.
S
SPORTS & RECREATION
un Youth was initially created as a sports and recreation facility. Thus, various
disciplines came and went over the years: baseball, ringuette and soccer were
all played at Sun Youth. The picture on the left shows three members of Sun Youth’s
soccer team at Jeanne-Mance park in 1964 with Coach Ted Skladanowski, Register
General of Canada and future Prime Minister of Canada John Turner, Sgt Jean Legault and a constable from the old Montreal Police Station 17. This was the first year
Sun Youth adopted Jeanne-Mance park as its summer home field. Today’s Sun Youth
kids are still playing ball at Jeanne-Mance Park. The program is offered to boys 6 to
17 years old. Registration fees are kept as low as possible and can be subsidised based on family income.
Five levels of play are offered: Atom, Mosquito, PeeWee, Bantam and Midget. In 2013, the Atom and
Midget teams were crowned provincial champions
while the Mosquitoes came in second place. (Photo:
Gerry Pelletier)
H
HOCKEY
ockey was among the first sports in which
Sun Youth youngsters were involved, going
back to the creation of the organization in 1954.
Back when there were no municipal arenas, the
Sun Youth kids playing hockey at the JeanneMance park ice rink used the profits from the
Clark Street Sun to buy uniforms and hockey
equipment. On the picture to the right is our own
Tommy Kulczyk, Captain of the Sun Youth Flyers, after a game against Finland shaking hands
with Montreal Canadiens legend Jean Béliveau,
under the watchful eyes of Sid Stevens, circa 1978.
S
un Youth youngsters are still involved in hockey
through the SLAP Hockey Development Program
which main goal is to offer children a first opportunity
of playing the sport in a non-stressful yet organized
environment. SLAP makes hockey accessible to everyone by making its registration fees as low as possible,
thus giving a chance to children from underprivileged
families to take part in the program.
B
BASKETBALL
asketball was one of the first sports in which Sun Youth youngsters
took part. The picture on the right shows Team Captain Earl De La
Perralle (front row center) and Sid Stevens (back row, third from the
left). Today, it is still one of the main focuses of Sun Youth’s Sports & Recreation Department. Participating fees are low and can be subsidised based on
family income. Five levels of play are offered to boys between 8 and 17 years
old: Novice, Mini, Bantam, Midget and Juvenile. In 2013, the Mini teams
were crowned champions of their league.
G
irls aged 8 to 17 are also invited to join Sun Youth’s Hornets. The girls
won their championship game last year. Basketball season never ends
at Sun Youth as the organization offers a basketball day camp and a summer travelling team. The summer players get a chance of being recruited by
American Universities and even the NBA.
I
FOOD BANK
n the sixties, the young people at Sun Youth noticed a lot of poverty in the
neighbourhood and started helping the families of the kids involved in the
sports activities by giving them food vouchers. Sun Youth’s Food Bank was
created in 1981 as a temporary measure to counter the recession. Here we
see a volunteer placing canned food on the shelves of the Food Bank, then
located on Sun Youth’s second floor. Today the Sun Youth Food Bank assists
over 2,000 families on a monthly basis. In 2013, we distributed over 31,000
food hampers including close to 4,600 Christmas baskets between December
18th and 24th.
Sun Youth holds its Christmas Basketball Tournament every Holiday Season, bringing together teams from Quebec,
Ontario and the United States. (Photo: Joseph Munro)
S
un Youth would not be what it is today without
the support from the various government levels and last year was no exception as seen on this
picture on the left: from left to right, MNA and
Vice-President of the National Assembly Carole
Poirier, Sun Youth Director of Crime Prevention
Helio Galego, Montreal Executive Committee
President Pierre Desrochers, Montreal Police
Director Marc Parent, Mayor of Montreal Denis
Coderre, Sun Youth Executive Vice-President
Sid Stevens and his Assistant, Tommy Kulczyk.
(Photo: Joseph Munro)
T
EMERGENCY SERVICES
he early seventies saw Sun Youth widening its Emergency Services
as the occurrence of fires in the Plateau district increased dramatically.
Families, some of which had children playing in Sun Youth’s sports programs, were deeply affected so the organization got involved. A deal was signed
with the Queen Elizabeth Hotel to temporarily relocate fire victims and soon,
all the hotels in Montreal wanted to participate in the program. McDonald’s
also got recruited and has been a partner ever since helping feed temporarily
homeless families. The program was endorsed by Mayor Jean Drapeau following a hand shake between himself and Sid Stevens. This picture from 1992
shows Sun Youth employees attending a special training session from the
Montreal Fire Department.
T
oday Sun Youth still works in partnership with
the Montreal Fire Department along with the
Quebec Division of the Canadian Red-Cross and
the Office municipal d’habitation de Montréal to
assist fire victims. The victims are provided with
emergency assistance and personalized follow-up
as needed. Follow-up may be available long enough
for them recover a normal lifestyle. (Photo: Tom
Stewart)
O
ne of the first partners to work with Sun Youth was the Montreal Police.
On the right, we see Montreal Canadians defenseman Doug Harvey in
conversation with Montreal Police Sergeant André Rousseau at the organization’s Annual Cycle Test, circa 1960.
T
BIKE PATROL
he Montreal Police is still actively involved with Sun
Youth, especially through annual projects such as the
Bike Patrol, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this
summer. Among the 29 patrollers working as “the eyes
and the ears” of the SPVM and its 10 participating police
stations are 6 “teens on patrol”. The teens on patrol were
officially sworn in on June 27th in the presence of SPVM
officials and Sun Youth support staff : Bike Patrol Coordinator Nadia Masella, Montreal Police Director Marc
Parent, Executive Vice-President Sid Stevens, Sergeant
Daniel Théorêt (PDQ 33), Montreal Police Assistant Director Fady Dagher and Director of Crime Prevention
and Victim Services Helio Galego. (Photo: Steven Bastien)
BIKE GIVEAWAY
G
iving away bicycles is nothing
new for Sun Youth. On
the photo at left, we see
cofounder Sid Stevens
with Montreal Mayor
Sarto Fournier in 1958
at the organization’s Annual Cycle Test where
participants could win a
brand new bike!
F
or the last 30 years
an anonymous donor known as the
Bike Man has allowed
Sun Youth to reward exceptional youths by giving them a new bicycle,
a protective helmet and
a bike lock. This year
was no exception as 75
exceptional kids were
rewarded at Sun Youth’s
Annual Bike Giveaway
on June 4th, also celebrating the Bike Man’s
89th birthday. (Photo:
Elizabeth Delage)
SUMMER CAMP
S
ummer has always
been a busy period
for Sun Youth. Before
owning its own Summer Camp which was
graciously donated by
the late Judge Jules Levitt in 1984, the organization was renting various
camp facilities. Here, on
the right, we see a group
of Sun Youth campers at
Camp Hiawatha in 1976
with Montreal Canadiens Pierre Bouchard.
E
very summer the
Sun Youth Summer
Camp located in the
Laurentians in RivièreRouge (L’Annonciation)
welcomes 5 to 14 years
old boys and girls. It
also welcomes seniors
at the camp’s House
of Wisdom and single
moms and their young
children through Sun
Youth’s It’s Moms’ Turn
special camp sessions.
O
GOLF TOURNAMENT
ur sports and recreation programs are supported in part by the proceeds from our Annual Mordy
Gordon Memorial Golf Tournament. The 2014 edition, celebrating Sun Youth’s Diamond Anniversary on August 14th at Le Diamant Golf Club in Mirabel is holding a special ceremony to honour Sid
Stevens and Earl De La Perralle, our first two “Sun Youth kids”. This very special evening starts with a
cocktail, and includes a succulent dinner, a silent and live auction and many raffle prizes thanks to generous sponsors. Above to the right shows Sun Youth kid Mordy Gordon receives the award for the Cleanest
Player in 1960 from the hands of Montreal Alouettes player Red O’Quinn. After Mordy’s passing away in
2012, Sun Youth’s annual golf tournament was renamed the Mordy Gordon Memorial Golf Tournament.
In 2013 the Gordon family was honored for their continued support towards Sun Youth. From left to right:
Robert Gordon, Frances Gordon, Michael Gordon and Ryan Gordon. (Photo: Ann St. Arnaud)

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